


Brave and The Bold

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Abandonment, Coming of Age, Enemies to Friends, Final Fantasy X AU, Fluff, Found Family, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I mean I guess you could say that?? Who needs tags anyway, Light Angst, M/M, Reaper76 Big Bang, Ugh God here we go with tags I guess, this fic has it all folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-04 08:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: Jack loved Gabriel from the moment he arrived in Besaid. Gabriel would have done anything for Jack. They should have known that, in a world of Sin and fiends, it would have never lasted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright SO! This is my entry for the Reaper76 Big Bang 2017. Honestly, this has been such a ride. I'd like to thank everyone on Discord for being so kind to me over the past few months, and my close friends for dealing with, well, me having incessant meltdowns over this whole debacle. Thanks for Bee for being my beta!
> 
> And honestly, a very special thanks to Morganzephyr for his art (http://vehicroids.tumblr.com/post/163567660093/reaper76bigbang-artwork-by-morganzephyr-for-the)!! He's been such a good friend through this as well, and I'm glad we ended up working together. 
> 
> I will warn for FFX spoilers, but I think a lot of people who read this know the story. And if you don't, well, plenty of explanation in the fic for you. This particular fic is looking into the past of Jack and Gabriel as they grow up in Besaid. Why not anywhere else? ...I'm not sure, now that I think about it. Oh well. This was originally going to be something else (same universe), but I would have run out of time. So in reality, there is a big chunk of a sequel sitting in a Word document on my laptop.
> 
> I can't believe it's over. Months in the making, and here we go. Schedule is every Wednesday and Sunday.

Jack was only a baby when his parents died at the hands of Sin, The Great Beast caused by the folly of man. He was passed from temple to temple by the church, until finally, they found room for him in the village island of Besaid. The pastor officing there was more than happy to take in another lost soul. He already had quite the reputation for it, as well.

From there, through Zenyatta’s teaching, Jack learnt all about Sin, the monster born from the great war with machina - machines - and a physical representation of humanity’s sins. Yevon, Spira’s common religion, taught  that through repenting, humanity could atone for their sins and, with the aid of the summoners, Sin would not rise again. It was that hope that kept the religion alive, regardless of how many times summoners took the beast down and the fact that it always came back.

Summoners called forth aeons - powerful monsters, and physical manifestations of souls. Those souls belonged to people known as fayth, who had been locked away in stone, never to wake. Summoners were to travel through a pilgrimage across Spira, to gain various aeons, before obtaining the final aeon. With that final aeon, they could take Sin down, but only for a time, as it always returned.

Not everyone had the power to become one, and many who did have the ability did not go on the pilgrimage. Many would give up somewhere along the way, but the most common place to quit was the Calm Lands, right before Zanarkand, and right before Sin. There was no shame in it, though. Not everyone was strong enough to sacrifice themselves for the world. Instead, the ones who quit would fall into priesthood.

The priests believed Jack had the skills necessary to become a summoner, and tried to encourage him to become one. He didn’t want to, though, and he made that clear from the start, much to the dismay of the priests. All Jack wanted was to be a normal kid, and he didn’t want to be treated like a porcelain doll in a glass cabinet.

He was not the only child to have been taken in by the temple. Jack had the company of a girl, Ana, who was a couple of years older than him, but had arrived only shortly before him. Her parents had also been killed by Sin, and that shared loss brought the two of them closer. With Ana by his side, Jack no longer felt like he was alone.

Quickly, she took on the role of a big sister with him, which Jack happily lapped up. When Jack was growing up, there were no other children in the temple. However, there was also a young woman, a fledgling, who all but isolated herself to hone her skills. She was most likely lonely, so when she was praying at the temple, Jack joined her. He never said anything, and neither did she. Once she was done for the day, she would pat his head and walk away. Jack always saw that as a sign of affection.

Zenyatta did not have a lot of time, but what time he did have spare went to the children. Jack loved the time the three of them spent together, and he could almost pretend he just had an absent father, not an orphan. Zenyatta did often make an effort to put the children to bed, but it was not always feasible.

Those nights were when Jack could truly talk to Zenyatta, and he would ask him whatever came to mind at the time. Anything to keep him around for as long as possible. Zenyatta knew his tactic, and would always hesitate before leaving the room. His duties to the temple may have been important, but the well-being of his wards mattered more to him.

Then one night, Jack asked a question that was inevitable. He asked about what a summoner truly was, no more vague explanations. And Zenyatta halted completely; Jack was still young, and this was difficult enough to talk about with adults. But still, Zenyatta grabbed a chair and sat down next to Jack's bed and placed a hand on his head as he gathered his thoughts.

“Summoners are people of great power,great skill and they have great responsibilities. As you know, they go through the pilgrimage and, once they reach Zanarkand, obtain the final aeon.” Zenyatta explained.   
“I know all that stuff,” Jack said, a little impatient.   
Zenyatta laughed gently. “I see,” he said. “Once the final aeon has been obtained, the summoner travels back to the Calm Lands to fight Sin. Once Sin is defeated...” Zenyatta hesitated. Jack was still so young, too young, to know.   
“Then, they die.” Jack said. Slowly, Zenyatta nodded. “Why?”   
“No one is sure. There are however, many theories on the matter.”   
“What do you think happens?”

Zenyatta visibly flinched, but tried so hard to swallow it back. He took in a small puff of breath and gently ruffled the soft locks, before finally moving his hand away. He folded his hands on his lap and no longer looked at Jack, but he was staring at Zenyatta, like the world depended on that answer.

“I believe the energy required to summon the final aeon burns them out,” he finally answered.   
“Oh.” Jack paused. For a moment, he was lost in thought, but then he nodded sagely. “Then, I’ll become a guardian, and I’ll protect my summoner. And at the end, they can take my energy too. That way we can both live!”

It seemed like such a simple solution to a child, and perhaps it was. His determination was truly admirable, but sad once one knew the truth. Looking back now, had Jack known the truth, would he have stayed on that path?  Jack wondered about that sometimes, but ultimately, it didn’t matter.

Soon after, Jack was taught in the ways of the sword by the crusaders. That was how he had met Reinhardt. Reinhardt was only about ten at the time, but by Yevon, the boy was already a tower. He looked like he could lift the whole island of Besaid without even thinking about it, and Jack was in awe. He wished that he, too, were that strong.

He, on the other hand, was more encouraged to follow a gentle path; a path of white magic. His abilities were uncommon, and the temple sought to hone them. Jack hated it. It felt like no matter what he did, he was always going to do what they wanted, and not what he wanted. He knew this was his fate, though, and refused to give up.

Jack was eight when a new family moved into Besaid from Bevelle, consisting of a family of five, a mother, three girls, and one young boy who was the same age as Jack. After having been only around children older than him, as Reinhardt and Ana were respectively eleven and ten, it felt like a nice novelty to find someone his age.

Jack was a little hesitant at first to talk to this new family. New people were uncommon, other than passing travellers and the odd pilgrimage, and it was even rarer for children to be there.With a gentle push, Jack approached the young boy. He folded his hands into a sphere as he bowed – the common greeting among followers of Yevon.

“Hi! I’m Jack,” he greeted. “What’s your name?”   
“Gabriel.” Gabriel seemed a little distant, but he was probably shy, too.   
“Nice to meet you, Gabe!” Gabe visibly flinched. “Wanna come play?”   
Gabriel looked over at his mother, who nodded at him with a wide smile. “O-okay.”

Jack grabbed Gabriel’s hand and scampered off, dragging a nervous Gabriel behind him. Once Jack found Ana and Reinhardt, he released the poor, terrified boy. The two others looked at Jack with confusion, but all Jack did was grin.

“This is Gabe,” he announced.   
“Gabriel.”   
“Can Gabe play too?”   
Ana looked at the new boy, then over to Reinhardt with an amused look. “I don’t see why not.” The tall boy laughed, his voice a booming noise already and wrapped his arm around the now-scared Gabriel.   
“Of course! The more, the merrier!”

Gabriel was stiff as a board, and Jack was sure a light breeze would send him flying off like paper. He placed a gentle hand on Gabriel’s shoulder when Reinhardt finally released him. The scared boy relaxed a little, but he still looked so, so tiny. Jack thought to himself that maybe he could be like a big brother to this kid.

“Don’t worry Gabe, Reinhardt is just loud.” And the size of a barn.

Ana had brought a blitzball ball; a knobbly, blue and white thing which felt weird to hold. It was a little difficult to catch out of the water, but they made do. They took turns passing it at each other, either by throwing or by kicking. When Jack got hit in the stomach with the ball though, the kids decided that maybe they ought to stop for the day.

\--

The next morning, Jack went to find Gabriel. The boy was awkwardly hovering around his home, so he was easy enough to find. Excited, Jack shot off to him. Gabriel seemed far more at ease when he saw his new friend, and even relaxed a little. Jack grinned at him as he stopped, kicking up sand as he did.

“You ready? Ana and Reinhardt are already gonna be there, I think,” Jack said. He hadn’t seen Ana that morning, so he assumed she had just gone off without him.

Gabriel nodded. The two of them made their way to the beach, and, as predicted, the other two were already there. Jack could hear their laughter before he could even see them. They were sitting together, and Ana held their ball in her arms. When she heard the other two coming, she looked over at them.

“What time do you call this?” she joked.   
“S’too early to wake up when you do,” Jack mumbled.

She laughed and stood up, throwing the ball at him with high accuracy. For once, he managed to catch it with his hands, and not his face. He was pretty proud of himself for that. He threw the ball right back at her, and she passed it over to Reinhardt, and the game simply evolved from there.

Though the sun beat down on them, it did not discourage the children from playing. Jack and Reinhardt were already starting to develop sunburns, but they wouldn’t notice for another few hours. By then, they would both be flattened and burning in the shade.

Gabriel wasn’t paying attention. Reinhardt threw the ball a little too hard at him, and that was it. With quite the resounding slap, Gabriel caught the ball. With his face. There was a second of silence, before he realised what had happened. Then suddenly, he burst into tears, and none of them had any idea what to do.

Jack approached him and held Gabriel’s face carefully. His nose was bleeding, possibly broken, but he wasn’t sure. There was one thing Jack could do to fix this. With an inhale, he focused his magic to surround him, then moved it slowly to Gabriel. Gabriel flinched and tried to back away, but Jack did not let him. He visibly relaxed as the magic slowly healed him, but he was still sobbing.

Jack released his face, and it seemed that the bleeding had stopped. “Gabe? You okay?”   
“N-no,” Gabriel stuttered, slowly backing away from Jack.   
“Does it still hurt? Come here, I’ll help you,” Jack said, trying to reach out to him.

But Gabriel bolted before anyone could even do anything, leaving Jack standing there. He looked over at Ana and Reinhardt, who were just as confused and concerned as he was. Jack should have just run after him, but he didn’t know why he didn’t. Ana put her hands on his shoulders.

“Am I really that weird?” Jack whispered. He felt something prickle at the corners of his eyes, and he tried so hard to bite it back.   
Ana sighed, rubbing his shoulders gently. “Some people just don’t understand.”

Gabriel was nowhere to be found that day, or the next. Perhaps the ball had caused more damage, and he required bedrest. But Jack knew it was thanks to him, thanks to his weird abilities in white magic, something both coveted and feared in Spira. Jack had no idea whether he should go look for Gabriel, or simply call it a day.

On the third day, Jack found himself alone at the beach, tracing circles in the sand. Ana and Reinhardt had not appeared yet, but he didn’t mind, as they were busier than he was. He heard someone approach, but he assumed it was just one of the adults checking up on him, so he didn’t react. But they didn’t make a noise, Jack looked behind him and saw Gabriel awkwardly hovering.

“Hey,” Jack said. Gabriel sat down next to him without a word. “You okay?”   
“Kinda. My nose is okay now,” Gabriel shrugged.

Jack looked over at him. His nose didn’t seem to be damaged; perhaps they hadn’t broken it, just made it bleed. That was a small relief, he supposed. Jack gave him a small smile, before looking back down at his sand doodles. Gabriel sighed.

“Is that normal?” he finally asked.   
Jack felt his blood run cold. It was a question he was used to; he asked himself that all the time. “The priests say it’s normal for people with summoning powers. But not everyone who uses magic can summon. Something like that,” Jack said.

Gabriel went quiet for a moment. Jack held his elbow in his other hand, digging his nails in a little as he waited for something, anything. Then, a spark flashed in Gabriel’s eyes as he reached some sort of understanding about what Jack had just said.

“You’re a summoner?” Gabriel whispered in amazement, like Jack had shown him the secrets of the universe.   
“No. I don’t wanna be a summoner, so I’m not.” He sounded so sure of himself, as well.   
“So, what do you wanna be?” Gabriel asked.   
“I dunno. I just wanna be me, I guess.”

Gabriel laughed softly, and Jack laughed with him. Gabriel seemed a little less nervous now, much to both of their reliefs. Jack flumped forward into the sand., and Gabriel finally decided to sit next to him, taking care not to sit in his friend’s sand doodles. Moments passed between them in silence.

“Is that why you ran? Cause you’re scared of me?” Jack asked quietly.   
Gabriel averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, Jack.”   
“It’s okay,” Jack said.

He was used to the animosity and the fear at this point, and it was a little sad that a child his age was used to this. But it did make him feel like an outcast, like he didn’t belong out of the temple. Would he ever find a life out of there, he wondered? A sad thought indeed.

With the matter resolved, things could slowly go back to normal, if there was such a thing. Gabriel, to begin with, was a little too anxious to approach Jack on his own terms. Jack wondered if Gabriel was still scared of him, or if he was just worried that Jack no longer liked him. So, instead, Jack made the effort to go and find him, but he didn’t mind.

There was something about this kid that Jack really did like. He was friendly, to a certain extent, anyway. Maybe he was a little weird, and a little gloomy, but that wasn’t such a bad thing. When surrounded by optimists, perhaps it was for the best to have someone around who was more pessimistic.


	2. Chapter 2

The day came for the summoner in Besaid to undergo her trial. Though Jack did not quite understand the process just yet, he could tell that the atmosphere in Besaid was sombre indeed. People went about their daily duties as normal, people still traded, and the temple was still in operation, as it always was. In fact, people tried that much harder to seem cheerful. However, it did not feel right.

Jack and Ana had been ushered out of the temple without any explanation. Jack decided to go bother Gabriel, who was more than happy to keep him company. The current mood in the town was starting to get to him, though. Idly, he traced shapes in the sand as he sighed, thinking about the summoner. Why was everyone so sad? She was going to save the world, even though she was going to die for it, it wasn’t that sad.

“Why is everyone so sad?” Jack asked. With Gabriel, he felt like he was never too out of line with his questions. “I mean, the summoner’s gonna save us all. Right?”   
“My mom said she could die in there,” Gabriel said.

Jack wasn’t quite satisfied. He looked over at Gabriel, wanting to say something, before going back to his sandy doodles. He doodled the summoner in the sand, with her short hair and long robes. Why did Jack feel so wrong about this, like someone wasn’t telling him something? He was missing something.

“Is she really gonna die in there?” Jack’s voice was barely audible, and he wasn’t sure if he was asking himself or Gabriel. He flinched.   
“W-what? No way,” Gabriel scoffed, surprised.   
“Then, why is everything so weird? People are forcing being happy, but they’re not.”   
Gabriel sighed. “I guess that’s just a grown-up thing.”

That made sense to Jack, at least. Adults were weird, and kept things to themselves, no matter how much kids asked for the truth. Adults tried to lie, to protect, but Jack did not see it that way. It annoyed him just how many secrets were kept around here, more secrets than he could ever possibly know.

It was only a couple of hours later when the village found out the summoner’s fate, and that was when Jack truly understood. Communicating with the fayth took too much energy out of her, and she subsequently died in the deepest chambers of the temple. Her body was extracted from the temple by her guardian, who could not contain their tears.

Jack caught a glimpse of the cold, lifeless body, and an icicle shot down his spine. It was then, and only then, that he truly understood the path of the summoner. With no summoners on the island, the people were forced to push her coffin out to sea, and pray to Yevon that her spirit would not return as a fiend.

Shortly after her funeral, her guardian mourned the loss too greatly to stay on Besaid. They had decided to travel Spira, to clear their head and their heart. Jack never saw them again, and in the coming months, he began to assume they had died, too. He just wasn’t sure whether their death was planned or not.

\--

The temple was reaching out for a replacement, be it within Besaid, or from another place in Spira. In this world, replacements were needed as soon as possible, for the sooner they could defeat Sin, the better. Unfortunately, this meant Jack was hounded to become a summoner again, and he kept refusing. He wanted no part in that life, not after seeing what could happen to him and his potential guardians.

He hid behind Zenyatta, who constantly told the other priests to leave Jack alone to choose for himself. He was glad to not be alone in this. He didn’t want the glory, or the worship, or whatever else to priests tried to lure him in with. Soon, they turned their attention away from him, to someone else.

Ana was only ten, but she had made her choice. She had decided to become the next fledgling summoner. Jack was the first one she told, and when she did tell him, his face dropped. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to shake her, or to just start yelling. Visions of the last summoner’s body carried out the temple filled his mind, and he could not shake off the images. That could have been Ana.

“You can’t!” he yelped loudly, voice echoing through the empty halls of the temple. “You can’t,” he repeated quieter. He sighed, frustrated. “You’ll die.”   
“I know,” Ana nodded. She gently fussed with his hair as she smiled sadly at him.   
“Then, then…why?” He couldn’t hide the desperation in his voice.   
“Because I must. I believe that I can stop it for good, Jack.”

He stood there, dumbfounded, begging his brain to come up with a good argument to stop her. But he was a kid, and all Jack could do was burst into tears. Without hesitation, Ana pulled him into her arms and stroked his soft, blond hair as he whimpered quietly. Ana was a huge part of his world, his older sister. The thought of losing her was too great, and in his childish mind, all he could think of was how selfish she was.

But he was being ridiculous, and childish, because he did not think for one second that she would be doing it for him, or for the good of Spira. All Jack was thinking about was how it was hurting him, making him the selfish one. It took too long for him to realise that, too. They stood there for what felt like an eternity, as Jack poured out what remained of his heart, until he was too tired to cry anymore. He sniffled and wiped his eyes, and Ana placed a kiss on the top of his head.

“You’re going to be okay,” she said.   
“But you’re not,” Jack mumbled.

Ana went quiet. There was nothing she could have said that would have made this okay, and nothing could have cheered Jack up in that moment. Finally, he let her go, and looked into her face and he realised she was just as sad about this. He walked away, knowing that if he stayed even a little bit longer, he would have started sobbing again. Yevon knows he no longer had a single tear in his body, now.

\--

Jack threw himself further into healing, knowing very well that when the time came, he would become Ana’s guardian, whether she liked it or not. He had also started to train with a wooden sword, which, to a lot of people, just seemed like he was playing. But he felt like, to become a real guardian, he needed to become physically stronger. To begin with, Jack tried to spar with Reinhardt, which did not work so well when the kid was built sturdier than any of the houses in Besaid.

Gabriel started to come and watch the pair fight, and was amused when half of those fights devolved into Jack jumping onto Reinhardt to try and topple him. In the end, it just looked like a monkey attempting to climb a tree. Gabriel laughed the hardest at those fights. Finally, one day, Jack became a little irritated with Gabriel’s laughter, and decided to turn it against him.

“What, you wanna fight me?” Jack asked, with a hint of a smirk.   
Gabriel shrugged. “Can’t. I don’t know how to use a sword.”   
“You can be taught.” Jack turned to Reinhardt. “Is there a spare wooden sword?”   
“Of course! Let me go get it,” Reinhardt said.

Gabriel quickly understood that he had no say in this. Jack’s confidence, however, soared proudly. He had no shame in fighting his inexperienced friend. Reinhardt returned with one of the crusaders’ wooden training swords, and Gabriel’s face paled, just slightly, much to Jack’s amusement. When he was handed the sword, he rolled his eyes to hide the dry gulp.

“Really?” His voice was almost a whine. Almost.   
“Yep. On your feet, Gabe.”

Well. Neither of them had seen this one coming. There they were, face to face, each with a sword in hand as they contemplated this moment. Finally, Gabriel nodded, and jumped to his feet, holding the sword in what he assumed to be the right way. Jack grabbed his hand and carefully moved it into what he thought was the right way. Jack was mostly self-taught, and still a kid, after all.

“Show me how to fight, Jack.”   
“When you’re ready, come at me.”

Wood hit against wood in hard knocks as they wildly swung the swords at each other, yelling madly. This was what they were supposed to, so they thought. To outsiders, they were just two kids yelling and whacking each other with wood. To each other, though, this was an intense battle, requiring skill and might.

Finally, exhausted, bruised and battered, the two of them were like dead fish on the sand. Reinhardt had long since abandoned them to their own devices, meaning it was just the two of them now. Jack’s chest heaved heavily, the world spinning around him as his body’s adrenaline supply was running out of his bloodstream. Gabriel looked exactly how Jack felt, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Gabriel sat up, blinking a few times to adjust to his new surroundings, then looked down at Jack, who was barely conscious. Their play-fight, or whatever that was, had almost killed them. Once they regained their strength, they would need to get something to eat.

“Why’re you doing this sword stuff?” Gabriel asked.   
“I’m gonna go with Ana when she goes off on her pilgrimage. So I’ve gotta be strong,” Jack nodded, certain.   
“Woah,” Gabriel breathed. “Can I come?”   
“You’d have to ask Ana. But I think so. The four of us can go together!” Jack clicked his fingers in realisation as he spoke.

Gabriel and Jack both smiled then at the daydream of adventure and travelling across Spira together. They imagined strong beasts to take down together, and warm campfires where they would reminisce over the past and laugh. Yes, the four of them could have gone together, in Jack's dream. It would have been the adventure of a lifetime.

\--

Life became progressively busier for the quartet as they started to get older. Ana was training to become a summoner, Reinhardt was training to be a crusader, and Jack and Gabriel essentially dicked around with swords all day. To them, though, that was work. When Gabriel couldn’t come out to play, Jack focused more on his white magic. He still wasn’t great at it, but he was now able to close small wounds, and he was very much proud of himself for it.

However, the group always made time for each other whenever possible, usually in the evenings, before and after dinner. They took a blitzball to the beach, playing their usual games, where someone usually got a blitzball to the face. When that happened, Jack just took it as his chance to practice his magic, unless he was the one to get hurt. In this case, he would just sit out a couple of games until he felt better.

Sometimes they built sandcastles, or Jack dug a hole and attempted to bury Reinhardt in it. There was only one time when he let it happen, and he broke out of it easily for a pre-teen. On hotter evenings, they played in the shallow end of the sea, with their shoes discarded into a pile. They came out of it with drenched, salted clothes that immediately needed a wash, but it was so worth it. Jack's skin was a little sensitive he discovered, as the salt left a slight sting.

One evening was windier than usual, so instead, they all stayed away from the water. If it was windy, the waves would have been awful, they thought. They were happy enough to just sit around for the evening; the day had been strenuous enough for all of them. Jack laid down in the sand, watching the clouds swirl in the sky, and slowly shift from white to an orange tone.

The wind whipped up, kicking up sand and dust. With a yelp, Jack covered his eyes, and assumed everyone else did, too. He heard groans of pain from his friends, and in the groans, he heard Ana’s voice.

“Oh-- my hat!”

It was only something to keep the sun off her as much as possible, to keep cool. They should have seen this coming. Jack caught a glimpse of the hat as it floated in the air, before dropping into the water. Without a second thought, he jumped into the water, forgetting that he wasn’t the strongest swimmer. Screw it all; he knew how much Ana liked that stupid little hat, and he wasn’t about to let the sea swallow it.

The current pulled him in, yanking him deeper into the sea. No matter how hard he swam, he was always just fingertips away from the hat. Jack swallowed enough water to fill a bathtub, he was sure, as he coughed up the liquid. Horrible salt entered his lungs, his stomach, anywhere it could fill.

Finally, the hat was in his reach, and he grabbed it. When he finally felt that fabric in his hand, he relaxed, and a wave washed over him, pulling him under. He tried to scream, but the water silenced him as he struggled to swim back up to the surface.

Little did he know that Gabriel had jumped in right after him, knowing he was probably going to drown himself. So when he felt something drag him back to the surface, he struggled harder, his heart thumping, believing it was a shark. Once above water, Jack saw Gabriel, who was still trying to drag him to shore. His body gave in by then, And Jack had to let him drag him – the rest of his energy was taken by holding that damn hat tighter than ever.

At shore, Jack crumpled to the floor, with nothing left in him. The other two rushed to him, and Ana crouched down. She touched his neck, and breathed in relief when she felt a pulse. He was still breathing, too, and she noticed the hat in his hand in a vice grip. No one was getting that out of his hands.

Reinhardt was the one who dragged Jack back to the village and into the temple. They were greeted by angry priests, but none of them cared. One of them even made sure to follow them to Jack’s room to really go off at them. But there was only so much the kids could listen to.

“We get it!” Gabriel finally stopped. Reinhardt and Ana stopped, looking at each other. “We’ve gotta look after him now, so can you wait?”

Gabriel realised very quickly that he had made a mistake yelling at one of the priests like that. He opened his mouth to start yelling again, but snapped it shut once again and stormed off. He expected quite a telling off once they left Jack’s room. As soon as he was placed on the bed, Reinhardt was the first to go.

And then there were two. Gabriel ruffled Jack’s hair, which had already started to crust over with salt. Though her proficiency was in black magic, this did not stop Ana from trying to heal Jack where she could. But, for now, it was a waiting game. The two of them sat in near silence for what felt like hours, until a priest barged in. It wasn't the same one from earlier, at least, but he was just as mad.

“What are you two doing in here? Go home, now,” he demanded.   
“We’re looking after Jack, cause someone has to,” Gabriel spat.   
“Gabriel! You can’t speak to adults like that,” Ana gasped.   
“Both of you. Out. Now. You’ve done enough damage.”

Grabbed by the collar, Gabriel was dragged out of Jack’s room and escorted to the exit. The priest did not leave his post, knowing damn well Gabriel would try to break back in. Annoyed, tired, and realising it was getting late, he retired home. Oh, he would be back. With a vengeance.

As soon as Gabriel woke up, he was at the temple, and when he arrived, he was shooed away by various priests. He wasn’t going to give up until he knew for himself that Jack was fine, so really, they were prolonging the suffering.

Finally, after a thousand attempts at entering Jack’s room, Gabriel was allowed in by Zenyatta, who noticed him hovering awkwardly by the temple as he planned his next move. At this point, Jack was only just awake, groggy and crusty-eyed, but he was fine. He looked at Gabriel with a smile, scratching the back of his head before looking away. 

“I…I messed up, didn’t I?” Jack asked. Stupid question, really. “Did Ana get her hat back?”

All Gabriel could do was laugh. He pulled up a chair beside Jack’s beside and sat down. Gabriel grabbed his hand, and he was shocked by how warm it was. He did not want to let it go.

“Yeah, don’t worry. She got the hat,” he said, squeezing Jack’s hand gently.   
“Good. Praise be to Yevon, right?” Jack laughed pathetically, squeezing back. “You’re okay, right? I remember you started to drag me to shore, and…”   
“And I saved your life,” Gabriel said.

Jack felt really stupid at this point. Pride had almost killed him, and could have killed Gabriel, too. He could barely remember what happened after Gabriel grabbed him, but he was glad to see he was okay. Jack smiled weakly at him.

“Yeah. Thanks, Gabe.”   
He placed his other hand on top of Jack’s. “Any time, Jack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! By the way, don't forget to check out the rest of the Reaper76 Big Bang! Seriously, all of these people are talented as hell.


	3. Chapter 3

The boys were eleven at this point; not teenagers, but that stage was soon coming. Adults around them joked about the boys being real lady-killers, but neither of them had much interest in girls. Not that Jack could notice; the only girl around that he talked to was Ana, and she was his sister. There was Gabriel’s sisters, but they were older, and it was weird to try and date a best friend’s sister.

Jack was happy enough with the way things were in his non-existent romantic life. He had Gabriel; what else did he need? Perhaps they could stick together, like life partners or something. Could boys get married? Jack shook off those thoughts. Man, he hated it when he got stuck in his head like that.

Ana had become increasingly busy with training, but Jack hung around with her regardless. He liked watching her train her magic, or learn the summoning dances. Often, Ana would get him to stand and do it with her. The priests weren’t always impressed with this, but they allowed it, as long as she still worked hard. With Jack, she worked just that little bit harder.

In a way, Jack could call this his own summoner training, if he wanted to. As he wasn’t forced, he was quite enjoying this. Dancing was hard, but moving to the rhythm of life, as a summoner did, was enjoyable. For moments, he envisioned himself as a summoner, clad in dark blue robes and holding onto a staff. It just did not suit him, but why did it feel like it was haunting him?

All of this had given him an idea, though. After Ana had gone back to the temple with the priest, Jack followed. He spotted Gabriel, who was happy sitting alone until Jack came to bother him. He looked up, and immediately narrowed his eyes when he saw Jack grinning.

Jack led Gabriel out to sea. The latter was suspicious, but he followed. When Jack crouched down to offer him a piggy back ride, that was when Gabriel stopped in his tracks and folded his arms over his chest.

“What’re you doing?” Gabriel asked.   
“Just trust me. I’m gonna show you something cool,” Jack replied.

Gabriel paused. What was the worst that could happen? With a shrug, he jumped onto Jack’s back, who stood back up. He took a deep breath, and carefully, he made slow strides to the water. He could feel Gabriel tense up against his back, but he had to ignore it, or he would panic.

His foot cautiously touched the water’s surface and, when he felt it solidify underfoot, he proceeded onwards. Gabriel was whispering something behind him, but he had no idea what. With every step he heard the water splash against his foot, and as they proceeded, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. One false move, and they were going under.

Gabriel’s arms were around Jack’s throat, and each time he held on tighter, more of Jack’s air supply easy cut off. With a cough, Gabriel got the hint and loosened up. Then, Jack stopped.

“Gabe, look. This is what I want to show you.”

Gabriel looked, but he could see they were surrounded by water. He didn’t dare look back and see how far off shore they had gone and, instead, he looked down at the water’s surface and gasped softly.

The sea was calm and clear, so they could see everything. They could see the fish swimming without a care in the world, and the beautiful flowers at the very bottom. They could see jellyfish, bobbing along the water. These were things one could not see when so high up on a boat.

Gabriel was starting to get heavy, but Jack didn’t want to admit it. Instead, he held him tighter, with shaky arms. Jack sucked up his breath again, trying to hold steady, but he wasn't sure how long he would hold out for now.

“You wanna head back? I don’t want you to drop me,” Gabriel suggested.   
Jack laughed as he started to walk back to shore, secretly relieved. “If I wanted to, I could drop you here.”

In response, Gabriel squeezed Jack tightly again and, with a choke, Jack dropped his friend into the sea. His focus snapped, and with it he lost the ability to walk atop the sea. Jack fell in, too, leaving two young boys bobbing along the top of the sea. Quickly, they swam back, remembering the jellyfish floating around. Jack did not want to stick around for that.

“You’re an idiot!” Gabriel choked as he struggled to speak through the water pouring into his mouth.

The relief Jack felt when he reached the shore was amazing. He laid down against the wet sand and let the waves wash over him, not giving even the slightest thought about Gabriel, who was now out and glaring. With an eye roll, he dragged his ‘dead’ friend back to drier sand.

Gabriel sat down next to Jack, who had not moved in this whole debacle. He tried to poke him, but all he got in response was a grunt. At least Jack was alive.

“How much energy does that take, anyway?”   
“A lot,” Jack mumbled into the sand. “Ana can do it way better and for way longer. Didn’t think I’d hold you for that long.”   
Gabriel gently patted his back. “What is it with you and hurting me?”   
“Dunno. Guess I’m just a heartbreaker,” Jack winked.   
“Shut up,” Gabriel laughed.

\--

Reinhardt was busy preparing for deployment with the crusaders, and Ana was busy training for her pilgrimage. When they weren’t busy, they spent a lot of time together. Jack decided to leave them to it; he didn’t quite understand just yet, but he knew when he wasn’t the most wanted.

Those were the days when Jack threw a wooden sword at Gabriel and demanded a sword fight, regardless of the current situation. He could complain all he wanted, but he always ended up doing what Jack had told him to. By the time he realised, it was too late.

As they got older, they were getting better at fighting. From Jack’s calculations, they had an even split of victories to losses, which he was pretty proud of. They had managed to break a couple of wooden swords in their over enthusiastic playing sessions, but they were easily replaced. After all, it was only wood.

Once they had beaten each other senseless to the point of exhaustion, they would stop, swords abandoned on the floor next to them as they flopped into the soft sand. Jack could just fall asleep right there, next to Gabriel. That seemed like the most peaceful way to fall asleep.

Shaking the sand from his hair, he sat up, to stop himself from falling asleep. “Hey, Gabe? Do you think Sin can ever be defeated?”

Jack had been too scared to utter those words to anyone in the temple, scared of being blasphemous or offending. But with Gabriel, he felt safe with his questions.

“By a summoner, yeah. The final aeon will kill it. You know that,” Gabriel said as if it was so obvious.   
“No, not like that,” Jack shook his head. “I mean, forever. Do you think it will ever, you know,” he winced before saying the word, “die?”

Gabriel paused, and Jack could see the wheels turn in his friend’s mind. Not even he knew. Gabriel sighed, fiddling with the sand, before finally giving his answer.

“I don’t know. Maybe? One day, when the right summoner comes along, Sin really will die, I think. Forever. You never know, maybe that summoner is Ana.”   
“And if it’s not?” he whispered like it was some grand secret. He leaned in closely.   
Gabriel sighed. He didn't look at Jack, either. “Then we find another way.”

Jack stared up at the sky with a frown; the wispy clouds were dyed into a darker blue now, as dusk settled. He looked to the early, bright stars, searching for guidance within their light. But, at the end of the day, they were just stars. He grabbed fistfuls of sand, letting it run through his fingers, before grabbing more, repeating the process endlessly.

“We’ll find another way,” Jack echoed. “Together?”   
Gabriel laughed. “Did you really need to ask that?”

He wrapped an arm around Jack’s shoulders, pinning him in place as he gave him a scalp-scalding noogie, despite yelps of protests and fighting him off. Yet still, they were laughing. Immediately, Jack felt better, as nothing in the world felt quite so serious after a noogie. That was the worst thing in life for him at the time.

Jack daydreamed of when the four of them set off on their adventure. Ana would be guarded by her three boys as she obtained aeons across Spira and, when the end happened, they were all together. Ana would reject the final aeon, and they would take down Sin together. They would be heralded as heroes.

Ana did not have to die. Jack and Gabriel just needed to find a way around this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny baby chapter because I only deal in tiny chapters |D (I mean I do usually, but it's even more apparent in this. Leave me to die.) Also this is legit my favourite bit in the whole fic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fairly sure this is the longest chapter? I mean, probably.
> 
> ANYWAY THIS IS IMPORTANT!! http://morganzephyr.tumblr.com/post/163606261351/reaper76bigbang-artwork-by-morganzephyr-for !!! This is the artwork that accompanies this ; w; it's also added in the first chapter but seriously, thank you Morgan.

Jack was fourteen when he was starting to realise a little more about himself. He learnt that he was pretty into reading, and if he was alone, he was happy enough to read what was in the temple. Mostly, it was old religious texts, history, and the tales of past summoners, both successful and simply heroic. He found it fascinating, so he was happy enough to immerse himself in pages upon pages.

He realised as well that his physical strength lay just a little more in speed than in real hitting power, which made for many easy battles, as Gabriel was considerably slower. It was on those days, when Jack stood over him with Gabriel on the floor, panting, and a layer of sweat on his skin that he had a horrible realisation.

Alright, fine. He had a itty,  _ bitty, _ **_thing_ ** for Gabriel.

He didn’t admit it to anyone. Jack was a man who wore his heart on his sleeve and had no secrets with his friends. But this? Fuck, this was one thing that he needed to keep to himself. He could see it now; if he said anything to Gabriel, he would politely reject him, and their friendship would wither and die. Honestly, their long-term friendship meant more to Jack than some stupid crush, anyway.

When he was with Gabriel, he looked at anything, literally anything, other than his friend. Often, he would try to get Jack’s attention, but he would look around or over Gabriel. Not at him. This did not go unnoticed.

“You’re being really, really weird,” Gabriel said one day.   
Jack laughed awkwardly. “Really? Huh, didn’t realise.”   
“Look at me. At me, not through me,” Gabriel demanded.   
“Why?”

Gabriel clicked his tongue. “Just do it.”

Jack didn’t want to, but slowly, he managed to force himself to look at Gabriel. One look into those stupidly beautiful eyes and Jack couldn’t stop nervously laughing. What was wrong with him? He couldn’t stop; he held his sides together and he tried to contain himself.

“Seriously? Jack, what the hell?” Gabriel asked, exasperated.   
“You have a funny face,” Jack said.   
“You son of a—”

Gabriel pounced on him and proceeded to joke-choke him, pinning him to the floor with a big grin. Mistake. Jack grabbed him by the waist and flipped him over, forcing Gabriel’s back against the floor and pinning him by his shoulders. It was Jack’s turn to smirk, and his stomach flipped as he looked down at his face. Dammit.

He scrambled off Gabriel, red-faced as he thought of all sorts of crap. Jack mumbled some sort of excuse as he ran off. They never discussed that day, but Jack kind of assumed Gabriel knew from then. He never mentioned it, if he did know, and he treated Jack the same as he always did.

Jack just needed some time to himself, to calm his heart down and get over his feelings. He couldn’t get over them, but he could at least hide them. He needed to remind himself that Gabriel’s friendship was the most important thing to him, always.

\--

“Do you two want to go to a blitzball match?”

Ana’s question came out of complete nowhere. She held up two spare tickets to them and smiled, and watch the two boys’ faces change from apathy to pure joy as they jumped to their feet, like two dogs promised a bit of meat. She laughed and held one in each hand to them. Jack made a noise that wasn’t quite human.

“The Luca Goers against the Besaid Aurochs…man, that’s a rare match. Where’d you get the tickets?” Jack asked, snapping his attention back to Ana.   
Ana smiled. “I have my secrets. I hope you two aren’t busy tomorrow, as that is when we’re going.”   
“T-Tomorrow? Sweet Yevon, that’s such short notice,” Jack whistled. “I mean, yeah, I can make it.”   
“Glad I’m not busy tomorrow,” Gabriel sighed. This was not a match either of them wanted to miss. “Just the three of us?”   
“Reinhardt is coming, he just doesn’t know it yet,” Ana said.

Reinhardt was not the biggest fan of blitzball, but he did enjoy the atmosphere of people coming together for their favourite teams. He just had no interest in the sport, and Jack wondered if it had something to do with the fact he was a poor swimmer. Jealousy, perhaps, but he would never say that to his face.

That evening, Jack packed away a set of clothes and some money for the next day; gil he had earned doing odd jobs around the village, mostly healing. He did not sleep that night, and all but vibrated in his bed as he waited for dawn, and he swore for hours, he made a noise so high-pitched only fiends would be able to hear him.

Finally, dawn barely broke before Jack was up and ready. Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one, as he saw Gabriel awkwardly hovering around Besaid. Once they got a glance of each other, Jack ran over to him with that same damn high-pitched noise, with Gabriel was echoing. They grabbed each other’s hands and bounced like little girls.

“Boys,” they heard Ana call, and immediately released each other like nothing happened. “We have another five hours. It’s five in the morning, go back to bed.”   
“Can’t sleep, I’m too excited. I’m gonna die,” Jack said. Ana could only laugh.   
“You two… don’t fall asleep during the match.”

Ana retreated to the temple to go back to sleep, while the two boys made their way to the docks. They sat on the docks, their bags next to them and huddled close to warmth. It was still pretty early, and so, slowly, they fell asleep on each other, exactly like children. A couple of hours passed before Ana found them, and poked them awake.

The first thing Jack did was check his bag, and found that everything he had was in there, including his ticket. Phew. He felt like such an idiot. With a yawn, he rubbed his eyes and got up, only to find a whole array of people surrounding him. The Besaid Aurochs weren’t getting on the boat with them, as they were already in Luca.

So many people were wearing their blitzball shirts already, despite the fact they would not arrive until the next day. The hype was already building for what was the biggest blitzball game of Jack’s lifetime. Jack had his own supplies, but that would have to wait until the match. Food, money, clothing and blitzball paraphernalia were just shoved in there.

Soon, the boat was ready to board, and Jack’s group was some of the last people to board. Once the boat set off, that was when Jack realised how much he hated boats. He spent the whole time at the side of it, trying to keep the contents of his stomach on the inside. Yevon help him, he thought he was going to die.

Loud laughter caught Jack’s attention and he glanced over to see Reinhardt and Ana at the front of the boat, messing around. He had no idea what they were doing, so he couldn’t help but watch them. He had never seen Ana laugh like that, and it was music to his ears. She turned away from Reinhardt, holding her arms up, and he picked her up.

“I’m flying, Reinhardt,” she laughed.

What the hell were they doing? Jack laughed at them, or with them, he wasn’t quite sure. He shook his head, turning his attention back to the sea. Ugh. How long until they hit Luca, anyway? Gabriel had long since abandoned him to go look around the boat, and boy, Jack envied him. He felt like he was about to blow at any second and, honestly, he didn’t want to get it on anyone.

\--

Jack could have kissed the floor when they hit Luca, praising Yevon for flat land that did not move. His whole body still rocked, though, as if he was still on that hell vessel. Luca’s port was huge as it needed to accommodate boats from all over the world, both deliveries and blitzball teams. Jack, having never been in Luca, was amazed by its size.

Today’s match marked the end of the Spira Cup and, finally, the end of the blitzball season. People from all over Spira gathered, not just for the last match of the season, but to watch the most historic match. Music was blaring from various bands, going straight through Jack, as they all competed for attention.

There were plenty of stalls with food and toys, and a couple with weapons. One of the weapon stalls was owned by quite the scary-looking young man; clearly unhinged, but kept in check by what Jack assumed was his friend, or something like that. He couldn’t help himself, and he did have to take a look, but he ran away when the stall owner approached him. He didn’t want to die, no sir.

Today was a momentous occasion in the blitzball world; Besaid Aurochs vs Luca Goers. The Besaid Aurochs sucked, and this was no secret. In fact, it was embarrassing just watching them, and Jack was from the same town as them. Yet somehow, this year, they had managed to get to the finals against the best team – the Luca Goers.

No one knew how they had managed to climb to the top like that. Some people thought it was something like rigging, or some other teams took pity on them. No one really knew, but, hell, Jack was excited. For the first time, he didn’t feel ashamed saying he was a Besaid Aurochs fan. In fact, he actually felt pretty proud.

Banners were hung everywhere to commemorate the occasion, Aurochs yellow alongside Goers blue. This was something Jack wouldn’t see again, not in his lifetime, so he made the most of it. He bought so much food, and spent the day idly grazing on crap food. as the four of them wandered through Luca. Reinhardt was no fan of the sport, but he was having a good time watching other people have a good time. Jack never did understand that way of thinking.

Luca was the biggest city in Spira, even bigger than Bevelle. Towns never grew beyond the size of a village, as that encouraged Sin to take it down, but Luca was an exception. It housed the blitzball dome, which allowed mass gatherings of people hoping to catch a glimpse of a match. Somehow, despite everything, Luca usually remained untouched.

The sun was beating down on the city, but that did not rob Jack of his energy. He couldn’t wipe his big grin away, which he passed on to everyone he saw. Eventually, they made their way to the stadium, with about half an hour before the match started. The blitzball dome was almost filled with water at this point, marking the near beginning of the match, and Jack felt like he was about to burst in excitement.

“You know the Goers are gonna wreck the Aurochs,” Gabriel shrugged, stealing a piece of Jack’s popcorn.   
Offended, he moved the box away from Gabriel with a huge frown. “The Aurochs stand a chance. Have you seen their training? They’re looking good!”   
“Don’t let town loyalty get in the way of the truth,” Gabriel smirked. He grabbed more popcorn, much to Jack’s dismay.   
“Pfffft,” Jack snorted loudly. “Could say the same about you!”

The stadium was absolutely packed with people who wanted to see the Besaid Aurochs crush the Luca Goers, and some who wanted to watch them get crushed. Whatever people were there to see, the excitement was high, to the point where even the Maesters of Yevon were there. Maesters were the most important people in the church of Yevon, so seeing them was not common. Jack was shocked when he saw Maester Hanzo especially, as he had just lost his brother to Sin. Perhaps he believed he had done all the mourning he could, or perhaps his duties came before everything.

Though Jack sat far from him, he could see the hurt in Hanzo’s eyes, and an odd sense of shame. His arms were folded behind his back neatly as he addressed the crowd. The past couple of months had taken years of his life, and it showed. The white was evident in his once-brown hair. Not even holy men were exempt in mourning.

“I am sure I am not the only one in my mourning,” he began, eyes filtering through the crowd. “But we should take this time in memory of loved ones, and we must remember that we are never alone. We must never surrender in our continuous fight against Sin.” Jack heard a few mumbles of agreement around him. “I ask you now to join me in prayer, to commemorate those we have lost.” As he spoke, he opened his arms to the crowd.

In unison, the stadium stood and bent in prayer, praying for the fallen, for those still alive, and for safety. Jack, never having lost anyone he knew, prayed instead of the safety of his friends, and prayed that somehow, he would find the answer to stopping Sin. Before it was too late. People around him began to stir and sit back in their seats. When Jack glanced up, Maester Hanzo had sat down, too, thus he felt more justified to sit.

Finally, the match was about to begin now. The crowd riled itself up with excitement once more,, slowly gaining momentum before a large crash of excitement, with some people shouting, and some wildly waving flags to show their support. There was a surprising amount of yellow flags waved in the air, Jack noticed, as he looked around the stadium.

Soon, the players entered the dome, and it was always amazing how they could hold their breath for that long. The cheering became even louder as they frantically waved to their favourite players, hoping to catch their attention. Even Ana was joining in, and she was more the type to enjoy quietly. Reinhardt looked over at his three overly excited friends with a smile on his face.

The match was the most intense one Jack had seen in his whole life. The Aurochs were giving as good as they got, and by Yevon, they were fighting for their lives and their honour. Jack jumped to his feet and whooped and hollered and waved his flag like it was on fire.

“Jack, you’re so embarrassing,” Gabriel said.   
Jack looked down with a grin. “And you’re gonna let me embarrass myself alone?” He held out his hand to his friend.

Gabriel laughed, but Jack was right, so he grabbed his hand and stood up with him, but cheered for the Goers instead like his own life depended on it. Oh, Jack wanted to shove him, just a little bit, but he didn’t want to start a play fight, not with the risk of a real fight breaking out.. Gabriel clapped his hands as he made up some sort of chant on the spot, which some other Goers fans picked up and chanted with him. And Gabriel said Jack was embarrassing.

Ana had her face in her hands, and Reinhardt placed his hand on her back, laughing harder than he had ever laughed before. There was no way he was regretting coming here now. These were Ana’s guardians, and she had never been so ashamed.

Halftime hit, and the teams were at a respectable 1-1, causing the stadium to stress out over their favourite teams. Jack being one of them. He ran off to get more snacks, hoping that would calm him down. He bought so much stress food that he wondered how he was going to fit it all in. He would find a way, especially with Gabriel constantly picking at his food.

When the match resumed, the air was electric in a way no one had ever seen before. The teams entered the domes once more to the sound of their screaming fans, and the game carried on, with scores still tied. Jack couldn’t believe it. The Besaid Aurochs, the worst team in Spira, stood a chance at taking down the Goers.

He shoved food down his throat like his life depended on it, stress eating away at him. Jack was terrified for them, while Gabriel was now quite calm after his previous bout of excitement. He was still cheering, as well, but he did not feel the need to cheer as hard as Jack. After all, the Goers were going to win, he kept insisting.

Five minutes until the end of the match. The scores still tied. Jack dragged his hands down his face as his screams of anguish were muffled. They couldn’t tie here, the team would never live it down. His heart thumped like a house party, and his stomach acted like the upset neighbour. His hands found their way into the blond locks, and it took everything not to just yank it out.

Four minutes left. One of the Aurochs had reached the goal, but was stopped by three Goers, who smirked at him. There was only one thing to do. He was ballsy, but he kicked the ball, aiming for the goal. The stadium went wild. What sort of idiot kicked it there and then?! But the Goers couldn’t get to the ball in time, and it kept on its trajectory.

The stadium was screaming now as the excitement reached boiling point. This was it, the moment of truth. The Goers keeper was ready for the ball, and moved into its path. Or, so he thought. It shot under his arm, hitting the sensor behind him and sounding the klaxon for the goal.

Jack went wild. He grabbed Gabriel by the shoulders and spun him round without a moment’s thought. Jack grabbed him by the cheeks, smushing them together, before planting a kiss onto his unsuspecting lips. He released Gabriel instantly and broke into another cheer.

The three others were left staring, dumbfounded about what just happened. Gabriel’s cheeks had gone a whole new shade of red, while the others sported a fine shade of pink. It didn’t seem like what had happened had hit Jack just yet. His focus went back to the game in an instant.

Gabriel kept opening his mouth to say something, but he didn’t. What was he supposed to say? In the end, he just gave up. The only person in the group making any sort of noise was still Jack, and boy, was he noisy.

The klaxon sounded once more, signalling the end of the match, and the crowd lost it. 2-1 to the Besaid Aurochs, something that had not happened since the last Calm. Jack jumped in his spot as he whooped, waving his little yellow flag in the air. Never before had he been this proud to come from Besaid.

The stadium emptied out, but the three of them waited for Jack to go to the toilet and come back. Gabriel was still sporting a special kind of red, and Reinhardt chuckled at him.

“Ah yes, love’s keen sting,” he joked, with a laugh.   
“Reinhardt,” Gabriel spoke calmly, but with a hidden storm behind his words, “I don’t care how strong you are. If you say that again, or imply anything like that, I’m gonna personally kick your ass.”

Ana couldn’t help but laugh alongside Reinhardt, and when Jack came back, he was laughing too. He wasn’t sure why everyone was laughing, but he was never one to be left out. Gabriel had returned to normal now, having been given some time to get over what happened.

Luca’s colour scheme had been swiftly shifted to yellow to match the victory of the Aurochs. Jack had never seen a town so yellow. Besaid looked more colourfully diverse than this, but he wasn’t complaining. Jack was beaming with pride, while Gabriel was sulking, just a little. His home team had lost; he couldn’t help that.

The next boat home wasn’t until the next day, so it forced all who came from the island nations to stay in Luca for the night, but the quartet had already planned for this. They had a room in an inn, which was only tiny, but they were so used to each other that sharing space was nothing. It would have been weird any other way.

Luca was lit up brightly, as for once, someone managed to take down the Goers, and the city was still in shock. The city was even livelier than it was in the afternoon, mirroring Jack’s own excitement. Food and drinks were laid out on huge banquet tables, with servers swapping our empty trays for full ones. This party doubled as an end of season party, meaning teams from all over were hanging around. Jack felt just a little starstruck, and he really had to fight himself to avoid begging for autographs.

A cheerful band played upbeat music while people twirled around holding drinks, some people embarrassing themselves a little bit, but they had already drunk too much. Two of those people were Ana and Reinhardt, who were having the time of their lives dancing with each other. Jack had no idea what sort of dance they were attempting, but they sure were having fun doing it.

Jack hung back and nibbled on some snacks; he had filled himself enough during the game to keep himself fed for about a day. Gabriel scooted up next to him, a drink in his hand, handing one over to Jack. With a quick sniff, he knew it wasn’t alcoholic. Shame.

“Don’t give me that look, you know we’re too young, and so do they,” Gabriel said.

He was right, but the real concern wasn’t getting into trouble with adults, it was getting in trouble with Ana. If she had found out he had gotten drunk, she would have murdered him, and honestly, Jack quite liked living. He took a sip of his drink.

Jack just watched his two friends dance, leaning heavily on each other while laughing. Had they been drinking, too? He laughed to himself as he realised, yep, they were probably quite drunk. It was a sight to behold, and he wished so much that he could somehow record this, but the temple would confiscate it the moment they knew he had footage.

“Looks like they’re having fun,” Gabriel commented.   
“Hah, yeah. Didn’t think they were the dancing type,” Jack laughed.   
“You know what, Jack?” He chugged the rest of his drink in one go. Instant regret as sugar stuck to his throat, but he powered on. “Fuck it. Let’s dance, too.”   
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding.”   
“Nope.”

Before Jack could reject him, Gabriel grabbed him by the hand, making him drop his drink and abandon his plate. He could only stand there frozen on the makeshift dancefloor as Gabriel started to dance. Jack had never thought of his friend as one who liked to dance. How much did he really know, then? Jack wasn’t much of a dancer, really, so this was a whole level of awkward that he had never traversed before.

That didn’t stop Jack from trying, though, but it was weird, awkward, dad-dancing despite being but a teenager. Uncomfortable head-bobbing and hip swaying, while Gabriel had to stop to breathe, or he would die from laughing. He put his hands on Jack to stop his ‘dancing’, but kept his hands there for a solid minute in silence. Finally, he let go, and danced by himself, showing Jack how to dance like a regular human being.

But, like a salmon, he just flopped around stupidly. Gabriel could not believe how terrible his dancing was, and stopped to laugh once again. Such a sympathetic friend, but Jack was already aware he had the dancing skills of a chair.

“Look, just, follow my lead here,” Gabriel said. He placed his hands firmly on Jack’s waist, and gently moved him from side to side. “Like that, Jack. You okay, Jack?”   
“Uh,” Jack looked completely dumb. “Yes?”

Clearly, he wasn’t, as his body was just following the lead, and Jack was too in shock to try and stop his friend. Jack slowly tried to follow him, but it was going about as well as he expected.

“Can—Can I try something?” Jack spluttered, embarrassed to ask.   
“Anything, as long as you stop looking so weird,” Gabriel said.

Fine, Jack was going to call his bluff. He lazily wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s shoulders, who flinched at the touch, but relaxed almost instantly. Jack wanted to laugh, just a little, but he wasn’t that cruel. He felt so much more comfortable already, but he also felt just a touch weird about holding his friend like this. Just two guys hanging out. Right?

Jack looked away from Gabriel to glance over at the people around him, and he had forgotten just how packed Luca was, somehow. Ana and Reinhardt had vanished, and Jack didn’t even want to know where they were. He looked back to Gabriel, who was too busy looking at anything but Jack, making him smile. He felt just as weird about this. Jack couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable.

Had they always been this close? Jack could feel his breathing, which sounded just as heavy as his own, forcing his heart to skip a beat. The gap between their chests was a mere couple of centimetres, and if Jack breathed just a little deeper, their chests would touch.

His stomach was on the floor, and with every step it felt like he was squishing it more and more. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t all that unpleasant. Actually, as much as he hated to admit it, he was really enjoying this. He wanted to pull Gabriel just a little closer. Would that be weird?

Gabriel let go with a laugh, scratching the back of his head, and still unable to look Jack in the eye. He couldn’t help but feel just a little bit disappointed, but he swallowed that back somehow. Gabriel had a soft smile on his face, and he wished so much to keep that smile to himself, and just himself. He needed to get a hold of himself.

“So, see? You can dance, you just needed the right teacher,” Gabriel said. He sounded a little unsure.   
“Yeah? And where can I find him?” Jack joked.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, as the dance weighed on both of their minds and hung in the air. Jack looked at his boots, before looking around. Nope, the other two had vanished.

“Guess we aren’t going back to the inn for a little while,” Jack mumbled.   
“Why not?” Gabriel just needed to take one look around him to realise. “Oh. What do we do now then?”   
Jack pondered for a moment, before answering. “Wanna go for a walk? I need to clear my head.”

Gabriel agreed to that. They got themselves another cup of the fruity drink and set off for their wander through Luca. Jack was not lying; he swore his head was going to burst from the music, but he also just wanted to spend more time with Gabriel.

This wasn’t going to be their last time in Luca, either, which Jack hated to remember. The further they got from the town centre, the quieter it became, thankfully. Banners and confetti were strewn across the floor regardless of where they went, all of a single colour, still.

Luca was lit up still, thankfully, otherwise they were sure to get lost. Not many people were away from the party, mostly drunk people trying to get home from a night of drinking, or taking someone home with them. Seemed like only Jack and Gabriel were out for a walk.

Streetlight bounced off Gabriel’s skin, making it shine in a way that Jack was not accustomed to. Instead of staring, he occupied himself by chugging the entirety of his drink, which he should have known was not a good idea. Instead, he choked and coughed on the damn sugar barely diluted into the drink.

“You okay?” Gabriel asked, unable to hide the amusement from his voice.   
“Peachy,” Jack mumbled. “It’s getting kinda late. Wanna head back?” He hoped that Ana and Reinhardt were  _ done _ at this point.   
“Yeah, we’ve got an early boat to catch.”

Who thought an early boat was a good idea after a night of festivities? It was most likely to stop people from drinking so heavily that they tried to cause fights. Their inn wasn’t that far away, so before they knew it, they were creeping into the room. In the dark, they could see the silhouettes of two beds pushed together. Jack snorted, a little too loudly. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.

Jack kicked off his boots and flopped into his own bed, thankful for the soft comfort it brought him. He fell asleep instantly, unaware of just how tired he had become.


	5. Chapter 5

Reinhardt joined the crusaders when Jack was fifteen. There would be a massive hole in the friend group when he left, but he assured he would be back before Ana would graduate, in time to be her guardian. He had promised since Ana had announced she would become a summoner, and thus Jack was going to hold him to that promise.

“If you don’t, I’ll find you myself, and drag your sorry ass back to Besaid,” Jack joked.

Reinhardt let out a loud, booming laugh. “Don’t worry, my friend.” He gave his friend a hefty pat on his back, effectively winding Jack, before joining the other crusaders.

Watching Reinhardt board the boat and waving at his friends, Jack couldn’t help but feel sadness. It was not a permanent goodbye, no, but it could have been. Who knew when they would next see Reinhardt? If ever? Would they even be notified if he died? Ana would have been heartbroken if he died.  _ Everyone _ would have been.

Looking over at the fledgling summoner, Jack could see she was biting back the sadness. She had a smile on her face, a convincing one at that. He wanted to reach out to her, to let her know she did not have to be sad by herself. If he tried, she would break down, And to Jack, there was nothing worse than his friends sobbing.

The boat set off, and the surrounding people waved off their loved ones, biting back their own tears. The crusaders on the boat tried to remain strong for their loved ones, but some of them couldn’t hold it in. To be part of the crusaders was an honour; it was an honour to find a way to stop Sin, to keep Spira safe. Even if that meant death.

“I’m going to go back to the temple now,” Ana said, her voice cracking just a little bit.   
“Want me to walk you back?” Jack already knew the answer, but it never hurt to try.   
She sighed heavily. “No, I think I could do with a walk alone.” Ana turned away, quickly wiping her eye. “Thank you, Jack.”

Ana was the first of few to leave. Eventually the docks emptied out, leaving only Jack and Gabriel still hanging around. Lost on what to do, they just sort of hovered. It just felt awkward, and Jack did just want to go home, but he didn’t particularly want to go to the temple. Ugh. Why was it already so weird without Reinhardt around?

“It’s weird,” Jack lamented to Gabriel. “It’s just you and me. What am I supposed to do with you?”   
“You know, I could go if you want.”   
“Don’t be dumb. I like hanging out with you,” he snorted.

Though he was sure Gabriel already knew that, it was always nice to be reminded. The two boys spent all their time together either sparring or just hanging out, meaning things were still normal in the day. In the evenings, Ana would sometimes hang out too, but she usually fell asleep pretty quickly. The temple worked her pretty hard, and that worried Jack. Sometimes, he wanted to give them a good talking to, but he never did.

Years of training had allowed Jack to build up some muscle, along with Gabriel. Jack did still have duties in the temple, but those were mostly chores, as it was still his home. Once they were done, he was more than happy to hang out some more with Gabriel. They hung out by the docks a lot, as well as by the beach. With their feet dangling off the edge, they watched the water roll endlessly.

The carefree days seemed numbered now, as adulthood was slowly looming in on Jack and Gabriel. They did not want to admit it; they just wanted to be kids forever. But when Jack looked in the mirror, and saw the beginnings of a young man, he felt his stomach drop. The end of his childhood was close. Too close.

It was the summer before they left for Zanarkand that Jack realised something wasn’t quite right. With anything. Ana was more distant than she had ever been, choosing training over hanging out with her friends, which Jack could understand. The climate of the island seemed so weird, too; the temperature was colder than usual. Less summoners visited the island than usual, but perhaps Jack was misremembering the amount of people who did come and visit.

But the most important one was, Gabriel was becoming distant. Jack became more and more worried, but he tried not to let it show. Instead, he let Ana endure hours and hours of ‘Gabe this’, and ‘Gabe that’, whenever she was available to hear the woes of a sad mind.. She did not mind, watching him rant with an amused expression that Jack never picked up on. Either he was too dense to realise, or he just ignored it, but looking back, Jack could see her face every time he mentioned Gabriel.

The best solution would have been to just confront him, and ask what the hell had been going on. But Jack didn’t, and figured that the best way to keep Gabriel around was to keep being around him. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he was mad at Jack – rather, something else was keeping his mind busy.

\--

A year later, and not much had changed. Gabriel remained distant, but he still hung out with Jack. That was a relief. They two still sparred together; with the time drawing near for Ana’s pilgrimage, they could use all the strength they could get. Gabriel fought harder than he had ever done, which scared Jack but forced him to work harder, too. There was nothing quite like the sharp clank of swords, real swords, coming together to keep Jack’s mind focused on what really mattered.

A month or so ago, new person had come to the island; a young man by the name of Torbjörn, with an interest in machina. Strange, as most of it was outlawed. His goal was to travel the world and discover all sorts of machina, to become a top engineer in machina that were still in use. He insisted he would never look at the blasphemous kind that the Al Bhed used, but Jack knew better. A man of technology like him would have never been able to resist.

At first, the trio were hesitant to accept him into the friend group. He came off as harsh and all together rude. Then again, Gabriel was the same at one point, and they managed to handle him just fine. If they could accept him, they could accept anyone. Soon, Torbjörn was welcomed with open arms. Once he felt more accepted, he seemed to mellow out.

The problem was his mouth. He would say what was on everyone’s minds, but no one was going to say it. He gave no shits about what he said. Life was too short to bite one’s tongue, he thought. Unfortunately, this led to Torbjörn pissing off the entire island in a very short amount of time, but at least his new friends understood him.

Jack was seventeen when Reinhardt came back, and when he did come back, he couldn’t stop himself from pulling him into the tightest hug. The man was huge, both in height and muscle, yet his heart had not changed one bit. His hammer had gotten twice as large, and twice as heavy. Jack had attempted to lift it once, and thought he burst a blood vessel. Unfortunately for him, his friends never let him live it down.

Most of the time, it was only the four of them. The time for Ana to leave was drawing near, forcing her to keep up her training and her teachings. Despite that they all knew it, they never wanted to acknowledge it, except for Torbjörn. He was always the one to remind everyone that the time was coming, effectively angering Jack. But Reinhardt was always there to diffuse the situation.

Then one day, it was only three people. Gabriel started to hang out with the group less and less. That worried Jack. He figured that the guy just needed some time alone, and he could understand that. But going days at a time without speaking to anyone was getting a little worrying. Instead of hanging out with Torbjörn and Reinhardt on one afternoon, he decided to go looking for Gabriel.

First stop was at Gabriel’s home, where his middle older sister confirmed he was not home. With a grateful bow, he ran off to every other home in the village, and they all said the same thing. No one had any idea where he was. There was only one idea Jack really had, and that was to search at the docks. He always liked it there compared to other places; there was little sand when he sat down. Jack laughed to himself at the memory of Gabriel after he had just arrived, trying to shake off the sand.

And he was right. Gabriel was at the docks, feet over the edge of the wood, watching out to the horizon. Jack frowned and sat next to him without a word. He did not react. He probably already knew it was only Jack, anyway. His arms were folded over his chest, and his eyes remained trained on the sea.

“Are we doing the right thing?” Gabriel asked, his voice croaky, leaving Jack to wonder if he had been crying beforehand. He would never admit it, though, even if he had been caught with tears streaming down his face.   
“Gabe?” Jack blinked.   
“We’re sending people to die, Jack. That’s all the pilgrimage is, isn’t it? We’re just letting all these people die for...fuck, who knows, anyway? For Sin to just come back anyway.” Gabriel brought his hand to his face, rubbing his cheek with a small sniffle.   
“Maybe...maybe that’s the only way, though.” He didn’t believe that. Not for one second. There had to be another way.   
“And what if there isn’t? Do we just keep letting people die so we can have – what, four, eight years of peace? How long do we need to keep this up?”   
“When we atone for our sins.”   
Gabriel scoffed. “You’re not some priest’s bitch. You know as well I do that’s bullshit. It’s gotta be. We’ve atoned by now. Shit, Jack, it’s been a thousand years. Enough is enough.”

For a moment, Jack paused, and instead watched the waves with him as he sat down. He could understand why Gabriel liked it here so much; there was indeed something soothing about one’s legs dangling off the edge of the docks, watching the waves roll on for hours. It was calming. Jack sighed, rolling his head back, and his eyes filtering shut.

“You’ve been distant lately,” Jack finally commented. “Is this why?”

It was Gabriel’s turn to sigh. He tented his hands, fiddling with fingertips and watching them, playing with words in his head, before finally giving up.

“Yes and no,” he admitted.   
“What do you mean?”   
Another sigh, shorter and huffier this time. “If I wanted to tell you, you’d know by now.”

Without another word, Gabriel got up and walked away. Jack kept his eyes on the sea and took in a deep breath, lost in thought. Was this adulthood? He wanted no part of this. Jack just wanted to turn back to nine years ago, where he and Gabriel could play all day and all night. Those days were long behind them now.

Afterwards, the changes in Gabriel became more apparently, especially when sparring with him. He was a scary man in battle; deadly and foolish. If Jack asked for the thousandth time what was wrong, Gabriel would just snap and storm off, leaving the poor guy stood there, alone, to try and shout for him to come back. Jack didn't bother chasing after him, but he truly wished he did.

Jack prayed to somehow have the ability to see into his mind. Whatever connection the two of them had before had been brutally severed, and he wanted to know why. Had they both just changed too much? Did Jack do something? At least if he had an answer, he could rest a little easier. He would be allowed time to mourn.

It was a week before Ana was due to undergo the trial to become a true summoner and, understandably, she was terrified. Three out of her four friends surrounded her, attempting to distract her from her thoughts. Of course, Gabriel was missing. As he always was. That night was the final straw for Jack.

“I’m gonna find him,” he said as he got up.   
“Jack, don’t. He probably has his reasons,” Ana attempted to assure.   
“No. He knows this is a big deal, especially since—” he stopped himself, unable to say it.   
“Since you’re sending Ana to her death,” Torbjörn finished for him, helpfully. When he was met by stares from both Jack and Reinhardt, he simply shrugged. “Someone had to say it.”   
Well, he wasn’t wrong. “I’ll be back soon.  _ With _ Gabe.”

Jack’s first stop – the docks. As it was Gabriel’s favourite place, it made sense. The crusaders were setting off that evening to Mushroom Rock, so they would all be there, too. If Gabriel wasn’t there, or Jack couldn't find him in the crowds, surely someone would know where he was.

It didn’t stop Jack from running; he felt this horrendous feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong. He reached the docks in record time and, as expected, a whole bunch of people were there. Crusaders were saying tearful goodbyes to their families, and one person in particular stood out to Jack.

Gabriel.

He wasn’t wrong, he did find Gabriel at the docks. But what he didn’t expect was to find him there, with crusaders, sheathed sword hanging from his hip and a bag slung over his shoulder. Jack didn’t know what to say and, for a brief moment, he managed to lie to himself. A big grin manifested onto his face as he rushed off to his friend.

“Gabe!”

Gabriel barely reacted at the voice, but his eyes did find the form of his friend coming towards him. He was chewing on the corner of his mouth, arms folded. That halted Jack in his steps.

“What’re you doing here? We all agreed to meet up, didn’t we?” Jack asked with a nervous laugh. He couldn’t stop lying to himself.   
“Change of plans. I’m leaving, Jackie.”   
That name made him flinch. “You know I hate that name.” Gabriel just scoffed. “What’s going on with you?”   
“You keep asking and asking, but you’re never going to get an answer. Go back and play with your friends.”

His words sent Jack’s blood boiling. Regardless of what was going on, that did not give him the right to patronise him. Grabbing Gabriel by the collar, he shoved him against the nearest wall. Clumps of dirt came apart when his back collided against the wall, some landing on Gabriel, but even then he did not react. That just made Jack angrier, somehow.

“So, what? This is it, huh? You think you can just walk out of here and leave Ana? Leave us?” Jack banged him against the wall again. “Leave  _ me _ ?”   
“You can’t be serious. You can’t be that self-important.” Gabriel was laughing now, harder than he should have been. “I have my own life to lead, out of your shadow, and out of your scout troop.”

It made Jack want to punch him, strange him, do whatever to make him see sense. But he could see in those eyes that, for whatever reason, he had lost Gabriel. Jack’s heart snapped. What was he to do now? What could Jack have done to push his friend away like this?

His hand still holding onto the front of his clothes, Jack dragged Gabriel over to the docks. Some of the crusaders stopped talking to look at the sudden commotion. Jack paid them no mind. Once at the docks, he pushed Gabriel into the water, sending him toppling into the cold, harsh sea. A fitting punishment.

Jack waited until Gabriel resurfaced, gasping for breath. “Gabriel Reyes, I never want to see you again,” he spat.

He could hear shouting behind him as he began to walk away, barks of anger, but he paid that no heed. He rushed back off to the village, wildly wiping his eyes, though slower than tears could form. They were bitter tears, and sobs racked his body. He had not realised what sort of state he had worked himself up to until his friends spotted him, wide-eyed.

He didn’t need to tell them what happened. He was sniffling, and trying to hide it, but there was no chance. Instead, the group wandered off to find somewhere private to calm Jack down. By the time he did calm down, he was practically falling asleep. When he went to the temple that night, it had never felt so quiet and empty. He did not know whether to find solace or sorrow in that.

\--

A week later, the day had finally come. Ana’s trial was a massive deal among Besaid, and a scary deal indeed. People had grown used to summoners dying or failing the trial that, though the people held hope, they did not expect good news. Ana had three guardians go in with her; Jack, Torbjörn and Reinhardt, and they were all just as nervous as each other. Ana was the only one who seemed calm, but the slight tremor in her hand while she held her staff betrayed her emotions.

They entered into the core of the temple, where the cloister of trials lay. The trial was a set of puzzles for the summoner and the guardians to complete and, once they did, the summoner alone was granted entry into the chamber of the fayth. This was where the fayth rested in stone, and through prayer, Ana could obtain their Aeon; their soul, or what remained. This was how the last summoner from Besaid had died, as fayths do not always take a liking to summoners.

The trial was cleared, and all that was left was for Ana to enter the chamber, and wait for her to emerge. That in itself was terrifying. The trio was silent, and in their stillness, they could hear the fayth singing Yevon’s hymn to herself. From the sound of her voice, she must have only been a child, a young teen at best. The thought sent a shiver down Jack’s spine. How could they make kids go through this?

Agonising hours passed. Jack swore he could hear the other two’s heartbeats, just as hard as his own. A relief, he supposed, in a strange way, validating his own emotions. They each sat in a different corner, but their stares were all in one place – the entrance to the chamber. Jack couldn’t help himself. He didn’t know what he would have done if she had died and he wasn’t looking out for her. For his own sake, this was all he could do for her.

When she did finally come out, there was a great relief that washed over Jack. Ana could barely stand, and Reinhardt was there to catch her as she toppled. Jack looked into her eyes, and noticed her eyes darting around the room to try to adjust the world around her. Slowly, she managed to readjust herself, blinking. Jack smiled at her widely, and Ana smiled back weakly, putting her hand on her head. She was alive. That was the most important thing.

“Well, boys,” she managed to croak, swallowing back dryness, “you’re looking at your new summoner.”

Jack couldn’t help but be excited, even though he knew what this meant. They were going to pack up their things tonight and, tomorrow morning, they would be off on the pilgrimage to Zanarkand. But none of that mattered when, for now, she was alive. She was safe. Without skipping a beat, he pulled her into a tight hug, and Reinhardt joined in. Torbjörn stood to one side until Reinhardt dragged him into their pile.

\--

The journey took weeks of walking and travelling, which told Jack just how unfit and ill-prepared he was. His feet were covered in blisters, and he knew the others weren’t much better. Ana did not have their physical strength, but she had mental strength. Every morning, she led the boys to push themselves, but Jack knew that it was more for herself, in the end. If they stopped, she would stop, and even though Jack wanted her to stop, he couldn’t.

The weeks were some of the best of his life, but also some of the worst. With each temple, with each town, Jack became aware that Ana was going to die. But there was nothing like travelling. Jack had seen so much of Spira, from the scorching Sanuba Desert, to the frozen paths of Mount Gagazet. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Jack.

Everywhere they went, he couldn’t help but look out for Gabriel. In his mind, he told himself that if he saw him, he would have strangled the traitor, and forced him to apologise for what he had done. And finally, he would force Gabriel to explain himself. Yet, Jack wasn’t sure how it would have gone. Perhaps he would have let him go. Perhaps his heart would have led him down another path. He never did find out.

When they reached the Calm Lands, Jack tried to dig his heels in to stop Ana from carrying on. But Jack could not stop her. Not far out of there, they could reach Zanarkand. The air was so dense with pyreflies, of long-dead souls. The air was so dense with them that one could see visions of past summoners, about to end their pilgrimage.

“No!”

The shout shocked Jack, who turned around to see a young man. He was cowering, but Jack couldn’t see who he was talking to. The young man tried to take a shaky step back. He wore thick robes, making him most likely from Bevelle. He held his staff in shaking hands.

“I won’t! I will not lay down my life here. Let me pick my own path for once!”

And then, there was nothing. The vision disappeared as the pyreflies dissipated, leaving Jack to wonder what could have been. The group kept going through the ruins of Zanarkand, the city that was destroyed a thousand years ago.

Before they knew it, they were at the steps before the final Aeon, before the fayth, before the end. Jack couldn’t do this; he couldn’t let her go through with this. He grabbed Ana’s arm and gently pulled her back, forcing her to look at him.

“Don’t do this,” he begged. “Please, don’t do this. We’ll find another way, you don’t have to kill yourself for this. Ana, please--!”   
“Jack, stop.” Ana forced him to let go of her and, with a sigh, she grabbed each of his forearms, gently rubbing them. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. All you three need to do is get to a safe place before Sin arrives.”   
“But it’s not okay! It’s not...”

With a sad smile, she released him, and turned back to face her fate head-on, as she always did. Jack did not cry; he could only watch on as she finally left him. And just like that, he realised he had given up.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack was lost. What else did he have going for him? He lay in the Calm Lands, after Ana had finished, for a day. There was nothing left, not a single piece to remember anyone by. His heart and soul felt empty, and he couldn’t bear the thought of going home and seeing people rejoice over another Calm. Jack couldn’t do it. If it had come at the price of his friends’ lives, how could he enjoy the celebrations?

For a while, he imagined himself just letting himself go, letting this be his end, and just giving up. But there was something calling to him, like a voice from the other end of the field, that forced him to get up. Whether it was his imagination, or the remnant of Ana’s soul calling to him, he didn’t know. Weary legs carried him home, for weeks on end,d all the way back to Besaid. When he arrived, everything felt different, yet exactly the same.

The island had a whole new set of cheer, something Jack had not seen in years, which warmed his empty heart. In the crowd, he expected to spot one of his friends, and he thought he saw someone. When they turned around, Jack realised he was mistaken, and remembered that now, he was alone. Well, and truly. Instead, he retreated to the sanctuary of the temple, where he looked forward to his own bed, in his own room, where he could bury himself forever.

He caught the eye of Zenyatta, and in the past few months, he had aged considerably. What had happened in the time he had gone? Jack didn’t ask. Zenyatta approached him, his comforting smile placed neatly on his face, as it always was. He gestured for Jack to follow him into a private room, where they could talk.

“You seem well,” Jack said, bowing to him.   
“And you have seen better days,” Zenyatta bowed back.

Jack couldn’t argue with that. He sat down and buried his face in his hands with a grumble. This man was probably the only person who would have understood how Jack felt, and the only person who would not have told him to just ‘get over it’. That meant a lot to him.

“I don’t know what to do now,” he admitted, mumbling through his hands. He moved his face away, but still looked down. “I mean, is there anything I can do?”   
“Yes, there is. There is always work in the temple to aid the people, as you know, thanks to your abilities. Perhaps you could join the crusaders, if you wanted to.”

Jack would never join the crusaders on the off-chance he would see Gabriel. Time had passed, and instead of easing his heart, it had only made him angrier. He was blaming everything on Gabriel, but above all, his current loneliness. Back to the moment, Jack just shook his head.

“...it is not too late to become a summoner, Jack,” Zenyatta said tentatively. Jack looked at him in shock. “I apologise, that was inappropriate.”   
“No, it wasn’t. You’re right, that’s always an option,” Jack nodded, though his face paled at the thought.

Was he considering this? Yes. In the end, he had nothing else to keep him going. At least training would keep him fighting for something, and give him a sense of purpose. Perhaps then he would find a way to end Sin for good, and if that meant giving his life in his attempt, then good. At least then it would not be a waste. Yet still, he hesitated.

“Give me a couple of days, and I’ll give you my answer.”   
“Very well. But don’t forget – ultimately, it is your choice, Jack.”

Jack spent those couple of days pondering. But Jack already knew his answer, he just wanted to fight it. He had spent his whole life fighting this, yet now, it felt like the only option. It did not feel right. He had been following this path for as long as he could remember, and it was only now that he realised. Jack had learnt there was no point fighting his destiny any longer, and he was ready to give his answer.

Jack was nineteen when he took the vow to become a summoner, and to pledge to defeat Sin. As he looked into the faces of his neighbours, he felt the weight of his task. They looked at him with new respect, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Jack did not want to be regarded as some holy figure, or something that needed to be protected. He wanted to be just Jack, but he did not regret his choice.

He thought he never would regret it.

Jack had hung up his sword on his wall, along with his old armour. He had no use for it anymore, but it served as a reminder of who he was. He did not isolate himself, rather, he kept his distance from the people of Besaid. He helped where he could and when he could, and in particular, he carried on healing when he could. This led to more worship from high neighbours, making him even less comfortable.

Jack forced himself into studying, reading each and every book that was available in the Besaid temple, and some banned books he could buy from travelling merchants. They covered a wide variety of topics; Yevon, Spira, history, summoning, magic, the crusaders… Jack had learnt so much in such a short amount of time.

He felt a little weird with his staff in his hands; he had grown so used to holding his heavy sword that this lightweight pole thing was a distraction. Swinging that thing around was annoying, and more than once he had sent it flying in the wrong direction, and he had whacked countless people with it. He had the grace of a shoopuf.

Jack had become so lonely in his time at the temple. Time passed, but he realised the priests, bar Zenyatta of course, were not his friends, or his colleagues, or anything. It did not take long for him to realise that, to these people, he was nothing but an object to be used, and they were getting enough use out of him. Jack spent his evenings alone, wondering how Ana, or anyone, could cope with this, but realised they had people around him.

Jack, however, did not have that luxury. He was almost alone on this Yevon-forsaken island, but it did not take a genius to know he would not have much longer left. So Jack needed to get used to being alone, and it was tough, but he was surviving. This was not the worst thing he had lived through, and it would be nothing compared to the end of his life.

He was instructed in the art of the sending, of collecting pyreflies to swirl around him, before sending the souls of the deceased off to the farplane. Jack could not get the hang of it – it required grace, finesse, and a man of his size had the grace and finesse of a boulder. Perhaps if he had Gabriel... No, screw that. He couldn’t think like that. The amount of times Jack tripped over his own feet, or dropped his staff, or forgotten the damn dance was astounding. The priests grew impatient with him quickly.

It was understandable though, as Jack was a slightly unorthodox case. Summoners were usually trained as children, and then followed their own paths from there. As Jack had foolishly ignored his calling, it was more difficult to train him, to mould him. He had the body of a fighter, not of a summoner, and the priests were painfully aware of this.

Training wore him out, and more often than not, he would collapse early in the evening in the comfort of his room. No one disturbed him there, not until the morning, when he would go through it all over again, leaving him quietly begging for mercy, or a break, or for it all to end. He was left with almost no time to himself, to break him into the person the temple wanted. Jack hated every bit of training. He hated the physical and mental exhaustion, and the judgement from the priests who had no idea what was going on inside of him. He was frustrated, he wanted to throw a temper tantrum and just quit.

But he didn’t. He wasn’t some jackass who quit at the slightest bit of trouble. He wasn’t Gabriel.

\--

The world felt like it was finally slotting into place, and he was even getting okay with being alone. Jack finally felt at peace with himself. His heart was healing over, and he was okay with himself, at long last. On a peaceful walk alone, he saw something that made him stop and double-take. But his eyes weren’t seeing things, and his jaw completely dropped.

Gabriel Reyes was alive, and he was back on Besaid.

Jack wasn’t sure what to do. He had promised himself that, when this day finally came, he would pummel Gabriel to the ground, then force him to apologise to Ana. Then after Ana passed, he decided Gabriel would just have to be dragged to her statue by the throat and apologise that way, instead. Yet, now that the day had finally arrived, Jack could admit that he was lost. He knew this would happen.

At first, Jack just hid away in the temple, in a feeble attempt to collect his thoughts. He went from viciously wanting to rip out the guy’s throat, to thinking ‘hey, well, maybe it wasn’t that bad, and I am just a baby’. There was no inbetween, and his emotions showed no signs of settling. After punching the wall a few times, he realised that pacing the halls of the temple like a lunatic wasn’t going to help him either.

Even when he came out of his hole, that didn’t stop Jack from trying to avoid Gabriel. He suspected the man would either be with his family, or at the docks, so he settled on hanging out at the beach. There, he plonked himself down onto the soft sand, chin against his knees, and just breathed. Sweet Yevon, why was he sent here? What could the crusaders possibly have in store that no one else could do? Ugh. He wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging them close to his chest.

He never thought this day would come. He assumed Gabriel would return, but only after Jack had died, and that was how he would realise he had made a terrible mistake. He watched the waves, and remembered all the times the two of them had played on the beach, and sparred here. How much blood had been shed, how many tears, and how much laughter had been hidden in the sands? Gently, his fingers brushed against the soft surface.

He closed his eyes. It felt like only yesterday when he realised that his heart beat that much quicker for that son of a bitch and, no matter what, his heart still did skip a beat. And that pissed him off so much more than he wanted it to. Jack prayed for apathy, not this. Now that Gabriel was back – forever or temporarily, it did not matter – he had no idea how to deal with it.

“Morrison.”

Though the voice was gruff, Jack knew damn well who that was already. His time with the crusaders must have aged him. He sprung to his feet and turned to face him, a scowl on his face. The anger bubbled in Jack’s chest, and he tried to force it down, but to no avail. He regretted hanging up his sword, now that Gabriel was standing in front of him.

“I told you I never want to see you again,” Jack said breathily, anger barely concealed. “So, what the hell do you think you’re doing here?”   
“I came to see Besaid’s new summoner. I heard there was lots of buzz about him,” Gabriel said casually, but Jack knew damn well that Gabriel knew. He just had to..   
“Well, look,” Jack said, raising his arms as he spoke, “here he is. Lord Jack, in the flesh. Now fuck off.”   
“That’s not the way a man of Yevon should talk to his people,” Gabriel scolded.   
“You’re not one of my people. You’re just some blasphemous son of a-- Don’t try to stir shit up with me. I won’t rise to it, not again. Get outta my sight, Gabriel.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, like a mix between yelling at Jack or trying to beg, but he stopped himself. Putting himself back together, his expression hardened, and he left Jack alone once again. As he always did. This time, however, Jack wasn’t mad about it, but he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He sat back down and buried his face in his knees, mumbling to himself in anger. Fuck. Not this. Not now. Not ever.

He fiddled with the sand, letting it run through his fingers, before grabbing another bunch. The gentle, soft sensation helped him calm down and focus on what mattered, and that was Spira, not Gabriel. Yet his mind was now set on that traitor, and he kept going around and around in his head. Jack couldn’t take this. If he went home, he could talk to Zenyatta about it, he was sure.

When Jack finally went back to the village, he acted as normal as he possibly could. In fact, though, he felt like a fully-inflated balloon, ready to pop at the slightest friction. He held his breath as people talked to him, and though he could not be mad at them, he just wanted them to go away. Once he got even the slightest chance, he walked briskly away.

Jack ignored Gabriel as much as he physically could. Jack was not allowed to harm him, unfortunately for him, no matter how much he wanted to. Gabriel took the hint, and did not bother approaching him first. Stupidly, Jack wished he would talk to him, despite knowing what would happen. And slowly, he began to isolate himself once again.

He turned to prayer instead, hoping that would give him the strength to see Gabriel without rage, or anything, taking his heart. To an extent, it helped; it gave him something to focus on, but once he was done, he felt just as bad as he did before.

Just when Jack was getting the hang of training, he had started to regress again. He could not use a single spell, as when he tried, all he could remember was holding Gabriel’s face as he healed him. His sending dance was like a boulder was performing it. By the end, Jack had gotten so angry that he threw his staff to the floor and stormed away. He knew why he couldn’t do this, and the answer to his problems was Gabriel, as they always were.

Jack locked himself in his room, where no one would disturb him. He had created a fort of books, which he had already read a thousand times, but they brought him comfort. The pages were frayed and the backs had long cracked, but by far, there were his favourites. And, for a couple of days, he could pretend that everything was alright in the outside world.

Someone knocked on his door and, at first, he ignored it. Fuck everyone; if he could help it, no one was going to see Jack like this. He put his book down buried his hands in his face when he heard a second knock. Fuck off, he wanted to say, but figured that if he pretended he was asleep, no one would bother him.

A third knock. Whoever that was, they were persistent. They knocked a fourth time, this time they knocked hard and more than twice in a row. Whoever that was knew damn well that Jack liked to hide away in hard times, but from the hard knocking, it couldn’t have been Zenyatta. He was hesitant, but he got up anyway.

When Jack opened the door though, his mouth opened in surprise. Gabriel stood by the door, holding Jack’s staff like a ceremonial sword. He stood there like a lemon, staring at the staff, then Gabriel, then back to the staff. What the fuck. He brought his hand to his face, hissing out a sigh and rubbing the tense flesh.

“Good Yevon, what do you want now?” Jack sounded whiny, almost desperate. He’d had enough of this. Not even the temple was safe.

“I heard training was going well, and thought you were missing this,” Gabriel looked down at the staff. “Just take it. It’s not poisoned or cursed or whatever the hell you think I’ve done.”

Jack hesitated, then grabbed his staff. It had a couple of extra scratches on it, most likely thanks to his latest tantrum, but it was certainly his. He held the weapon in both of his hands, happy that it was back, but also not happy with the delivery man at his door. Ugh. He looked back at Gabriel, who seemed to be chewing the inside of his cheek.

“Don’t worry, I’m going in a week. You’ll never have to see me again,” Gabriel assured him.

Jack paused. He could have said thank you, fuck you, and be on his way. But there was something stopping him. He turned away to put down the staff somewhere safe, then looked back at Gabriel. He was still there, surprisingly enough.

“Why did you come back? Really, this time,” Jack asked. He folded his arms over his chest.

“I meant what I said. I came here to see the summoner, I came to see,” he looked directly into Jack's eyes, freezing him on the spot, “you.”

The last word come out so quietly that Jack wasn’t even sure he had said it. His heart did all sorts of backflips as it tried to process what was going on, and he could not settle it. Jack was still so angry, so hurt, so why was he just okay with this? Dammit, he couldn’t even be mad correctly! Gabriel stared at him curiously.

“It’s fine, I get it. I’m not expecting anything, but, you know where I am,” Gabriel said, then started to walk away.

“Yeah,” Jack mumbled.

Even as Gabriel had gone, he still stood there, dumbfounded. The two sides of his heart had finally crashed and, in its wake, left a strange numbness in his being. He was confused, and sure that if a stiff enough wind hit him, he would topple like a stick. Dammit, Gabriel Reyes. No matter what, Jack would never be able to shake him off.

\--

Jack stopped trying to avoid Gabriel, but he didn’t actively seek him out, either. He knew when the next boat leaving Besaid was, and how much time that left him with. Wait, was he really considering talking to the guy? Yes, as the king of poor decisions, he was. Because Jack did not want to die with regrets; he wanted to die trying to forgive Gabriel. And if he couldn’t, then he could at least say he had tried. That was good enough.

It was two days before the next boat, heading straight for Luca. Jack had completely ignored his training, instead spending his time just contemplating. He had barely eaten, barely slept, too busy thinking about Gabriel. The man still consumed his thoughts, no matter what. Finally, he snapped. Jack had decided; he would not die with regrets.

Gabriel could be found at the docks, as always, dangling his feet over the edge of the wooden slats. For a moment, Jack could pretend they were ten years younger, and best friends, full of hope for the world. But they were young adults, twenty four now, with the minds of middle aged men.

Jack did consider just backing out, going home, and pretending he never bothered, but he shook off that thought. If he were to be any form of holy man in this world, he needed to learn how to forgive. Without a word, he approached, and sat down next to Gabriel. He didn’t move; he probably already who it was. But he didn’t look at Jack, either.

“Hey,” Jack muttered awkwardly.

“Hey,” Gabriel echoed with a nod.

And suddenly, he felt awkward. For the first time in years, he actually felt like a young adult, complete with awkwardness. His eyes flickered occasionally to Gabriel, but mostly looked down at his own hands. He was still so damn mad, but the anger wouldn’t take, and instead, he just felt weird. He couldn’t imagine how Gabriel felt.

Waves crashed against the docks, splashing the pair with small sprays. Even that wasn’t enough to pull them from the bubble of self-absorption they had created around themselves. Jack folded his hands on his lap, and took a deep breath. The best way to do this was to ask questions, he thought.

“Why did you leave?”

The suddenness startled both of them, but neither of them were surprised by the nature of it. He looked over at Gabriel, who still could not look at Jack. Oh, this had better be good. This had better be worth all the hurt he had to endure.

“I thought the best way to fight Sin was without you, because I didn’t want you to get hurt,” Gabriel said candidly.

“But you did. Do you get that? I just…” Jack massaged his temples, words lost on him.

“I was stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking. Cutting you off would hurt less if I died? I don’t know, Jack. I was a fucking idiot,” Gabriel’s shoulders sank as he spoke.

Jack chewed the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t sure if he could even trust what Gabriel was saying. Gabriel had hurt him before, and nothing was stopping him from hurting Jack again, was there? Soon enough, he was just going to leave again, and how Jack felt would have meant nothing to him. Jack flopped down, his back hitting the wooden docks with a soft thud.

Jack closed his eyes. “Do you expect me to forgive you?”

“I didn’t even expect you to come here,” he admitted. “I just hoped you would.”

“Well, here I am.”

Gabriel laughed weakly. “You are.”

Jack watched the bright blue sky with thin wisps of clouds. He didn't know what to say to Gabriel, or where to begin with his feelings. A large part of him just wanted to boot Gabriel off the docks still, but he didn't dare. Jack had no idea how to feel, or how to begin to deal with this, especially when there was so little time left.

“Can you stay a little longer? Just, until the next boat. I’ve gotta sort out my feelings before I let you go. It’s a lot to ask, I know.”

Gabriel turned to look down at him, wide-eyed. “You sure?”

Slight regret. “Yeah.” Jack sat up. “Yeah, I’d like you to stay. Not forever, just… Yevon, ignore me. Do what you need to do.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

Those words sent happiness and dread coursing through his veins. Shit. Jack couldn’t keep his damn heart under control, could he? The pair sat together in silence again. Jack’s heart was attempting to break out of his chest and beat him over the head with his own arteries. All of this was so strange.

Jack settled on asking him small, dumb questions. How he was, what he had done, and whatever else. They all yielded uninteresting answers; either he settled on one-word answers, or just did not want to talk about it. Time and distance had changed them, and tore them more apart than ever.

“You ever think we could at least be friends?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know. I’d like to think so, Jack.”

“Never pull that shit on me again, and I think we can start something, here.”

They had a lot to work on before he could begin to trust Gabriel again. Though he was still hurt, Jack felt that it would be far more healing for both of them to build a bridge, and to start all over again, before he started on his pilgrimage. Jack did not want his last memory of Gabriel to be something negative, after all.


	7. Chapter 7

The day was approaching for Jack to undergo his trial, and it was a day he was dreading. As always, it was the beginning of the end. Jack tried not to think of it that way, but he became more and more painfully aware that, soon, he was going to die. He already knew that this was the only way, and he would gladly give his life to Spira, as he promised all those years ago, yet it was so difficult.

The problem was, with Gabriel back in the picture, Jack had something to live for now – he wanted to live to salvage their friendship and leave him on good terms. This left him scared, as if they were friends again, would Jack still go? He wasn't sure.

Jack no longer prayed alone; Gabriel joined him often, despite not being a devout Yevonite himself, and Jack did appreciate the gesture. It made him feel like, for once, he wasn’t alone through all of this. Jack finally felt like he belonged somewhere once again, and he felt so much better for it.

They would never be who they used to be, and he could accept that much, even though he wished they could go back. All they could do was build on what they had, and so far, it was going well. They were not kids anymore, but they could build something meaningful, and perhaps even improve on the past.

They hung out by the docks, as they used to, in peaceful quiet in the evenings, sun setting on the horizon, with Jack reading and Gabriel just watching the waves. Jack liked those moments the most – the soft glow on Gabriel’s face made him look calm, peaceful, even happy. Jack would smile at him, before going back to his book.

On one particular evening, Gabriel was waiting for Jack to arrive. And when he did, book in hand, Gabriel sucked in his breath like he had committed a crime. Ever cautious, Jack sat down next to him.

In a flash, Gabriel lost his filter. “Have you got a guardian yet?”

That came out of nowhere. Jack just blinked at him for a moment, trying to process that question. He laughed softly; how long had Gabriel wanted to ask that for?

“I don’t. I’d be risking the life of someone else for nothing, and that seems kinda…wrong to me.”

“You’re kidding.” Gabriel frowned. “Jack, that’s stupid.”

“I know. But… Gabe, you haven't seen what I've seen. I can't let anyone risk anything for me,” Jack admitted.

“That’s suicide.”

‘Suicide’. Jack wanted to laugh harder.If only he knew that was how it started… then again, he would have only become furious with Jack. After everything, he believed going alone was for the best.

“Let me go with you.”

Jack took a second to understand. “What?

Gabriel scooted a little closer, looking Jack in the eyes. “Let me come with you. As your guardian.”

Jack should have seen this one coming. Why didn't he? He sat there gaping like a fish, with the brain power of one, too. Gabriel was trying to kill him, wasn't he?

“No—I mean, I don’t know if it’s a good idea, because...” Jack had no idea what he was even trying to say. “Gabe, I’m supposed to ask you.”

“Yeah. And you haven’t asked, so I’m asking for you,” Gabriel said so casually. Did he not fear death?

Jack wanted to just say no, and leave it at that, but Yevon knows he didn't want to do this alone. Could he trust Gabriel not to run away? Then again, if he said no, there was nothing stopping Gabriel from just following him. But Jack couldn't let him do this.

“I knew you were going to become a summoner. After Ana died, it’s the only logical step for you, isn’t it?” Gabriel snorted, breaking Jack's thoughts. “That’s the biggest reason I left. If I could save you, before you even reached this point somehow… I don’t know, Jack.” He sighed, placing his hand on his face. “I guess letting you hate me was easier. You’d let me go without question, then. And you did, so I was right. And now look at us. We used to be inseparable, Jack, and I fucked it all up, because I'm a fucking idiot.”

Jack wasn’t sure what to say. Everything was slotting into place for him now, and at last, Jack could begin to understand. His heart felt at peace for the first time in years. He placed his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Gabe, I’d be honoured to have you as my guardian.”

At first, he didn’t react – he just sat there dumbly until it hit him. Then, slowly, a smile spread onto his face until it burst into a grin. Unsure of what else to do, he just grabbed Jack into a tight hug, and though he was shocked, Jack was more than happy to reciprocate.

“Thanks, Jack,” he said quietly. “I promise I’ll never let you down.”

For the first time, in a long time, Jack knew that Gabriel would stick to his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S OVER. IT'S OVER IT'S FINALLY FREAKIN--
> 
> Uh. Anyway. I have a lot of feelings about this BB. I'm glad it's finally over, I am not gonna lie. Again, thanks to my friends for dealing with me, thanks to Bee for being my beta, and a special thanks to Morgan (AGAIN) for the art. Which you can see here (sadly I can't find his reblog of it BUT his blog is Morganzephyr and he's a good):
> 
> http://vehicroids.tumblr.com/post/163567660093/reaper76bigbang-artwork-by-morganzephyr-for-the
> 
> Guys. Seriously thank you for sticking for this long. Check out my other stuff if you want, or don't B) catch y'all later


End file.
